Fort facelift

FORT DEFIANCE — More than 200 volunteers (and counting) are expected Saturday at Fort Defiance High School, where they’ll tackle about 80 outdoor maintenance projects as part of the second annual “Extreme Makeover.”

“You’re not going to believe how different this is going to look,” volunteer coordinator and Fort alumnus Dick Halterman said Tuesday, surveying the baseball field where many projects will converge.

More than 200 people showed up last year to grab rakes and paintbrushes to rehab the high school’s exterior. This year, students, their families and area contractors will chop weeds, pressure wash bleachers, work on a drainage system and repaint doors, press boxes, fire hydrants and school logos.

“It’s all volunteer,” Halterman said.

The one-day blitz has been drummed up on a Facebook Web page for the event, where Halterman has been posting updates about incoming supplies, asking for donations and uploading videos and photographs of pending work.

More than 300 people are “fans” of the project at Facebook, where they can take a peek at the task checklist.

“I’ll have paintbrush in hand,” Principal Larry Landes said.

Many remnants from last year’s makeover are unassuming if not invisible this year — it’s what the group hauled away, including trash and heaps of weeds, that marked their work.

“It’s a major fix,” said Fort Athletic Director Jack Tucker. “In the county, we just don’t have the disposable income anymore. It’s got to be a community-based support system.”

Landes, praising Halterman’s leadership, agreed: “If you don’t rely on your volunteers, then things just don’t get done.”

Volunteer groups this year will include the Fort football, baseball, softball and cheerleading squads and scores of alumni.

“If you get kids involved in fixing up, they’re less likely to tear up,” Halterman said.

Perhaps the largest project of the day will be working on a drainage system for the baseball field. Work began this week with excavation by a Verona company that volunteered its time. Reseeding grass will follow Saturday.

The workday will also include time for a lunch break with donated hot dogs and sandwiches.